Awake and Dreaming [Hardcover]

Kit Pearson (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 9 and up

While living a miserable, poverty-stricken life with her young, irresponsible mother, nine-year-old Theo dreams of belonging to a real family but finds a shadowy figure haunting her thoughts.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The combination of her own desperate wishes and a dead writer's fantasy propel the nine-year-old heroine into a dream worldAor does it? Ages 8-12.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-7. Wishes can come true, temporarily at least. Nine-year-old Theo desperately wants to be out of her gray, loveless existence and into the middle of a large and happy family like the ones she reads about in her wonderful library books. Often neglected by her young and immature mother, she is still reluctant to leave their Vancouver apartment and go to live with her aunt in Victoria. On the ferry trip, Theo makes a wish on the new moon and is amazed when it comes true. She wakes up as part of the perfect family, with nurturing and always happy parents and four caring siblings. Now she doesn't have to dance for money on the street or worry that her mother doesn't want her. But of course, it is too good to be true, and the magic doesn't last. While her real life isn't perfect like when she was "awake and dreaming," things are changing for the better and Theo is learning to be happy. Pearson deftly weaves fantasy and reality together into a charming novel much like Sylvia Cassedy did in Behind the Attic Wall (HarperCollins, 1983). Even minor characters are well developed, and this story is intriguing from start to finish. A mysterious ghost is carefully woven into the plot and into the resolution, but the focus of the book remains on Theo's very real concerns and emotions. As readers cheer for the child's happiness, they may also learn from her determination.?Leigh Ann Jones, Carroll Middle School, Southlake, TX
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Viking Juvenile; 1ST edition (April 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670869546
• ISBN-13: 978-0670869541
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,433,620 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awake and Dreaming, September 28, 2005

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Awake and Dreaming (Hardcover)

Awake and Dreaming is a book that helps us understand just how much we should be thankful for. It also helps us see that no matter how bad our situation, there is always someone in a worse predicament.
The story is about a girl named Theo. She and her mom live in Vancouver, Canada. It is safe to say that they are poor. Theo's life was very hard and she was going through a lot. So her mother decided that she needed to go stay with some relatives for the time being.
While aboard the ferry that Theo is taking to her aunt's house, Theo falls asleep and the real action begins. Theo goes into a deep sleep. She wakes up to find herself in a big comfortable bed. In a big house with a wonderful family. Theo
is confused at first,but eventually she grows accustom to her new family. She has everything that she ever wanted. Then all of a sudden she is awken by a strong gust of wind and her dream family is gone. She knows that she cant live without them so she goes in search of them and is amazed at what she finds.
If you like imaginitive books, then you'll love Awake and Dreaming!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful, October 19, 2002

By 

"miezee" (Oregon, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Awake and Dreaming (Novel) (Paperback)

This book is somewhere between realistic fiction and fantasy. Though it deals with very real issues, it also deals with reality, and whether consciousness is a dream, and dreams are reality, and whether the two are so dependent upon one another that it is impossible to be only one. That we are all Awake and Dreaming.
The person at the center of the story is Theo, who is being raised by a single mother who is much like a child herself. Clean clothes and good food are not things Theo knows much about.
The setting is British Columbia, Canada, not an often written about place, and the book itself is just beautiful.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars YOWZA!, October 24, 2001

By 

Donald McLeod (Antioch, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Awake and Dreaming (Novel) (Paperback)

Satisfyingly good book with an exceptional plot with quite the interesting twist. I wondered how Ms Pearson was going to explain Theo's "other" reality, and she did it in a creative and convincing fashion. The characters are all well drawn, and Theo's infantile mother, Rae, exceptionally so. I'm 50 years old and I loved it.